


Compass

by paox



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Ace is alive, Angst, Brothers, Cross-posted, Gen, Humor, Hurt!Ace, Hurt/Comfort, It's-how-I-Roll, Reunion, Sorry-Ace-You-Didn't-Deserve-This, ressurection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-16
Packaged: 2018-06-02 13:46:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6568639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paox/pseuds/paox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There're rumours. Rumours of a strange man with a strange name who always hides his face. Rumours of this man travelling through the New World with the force of an avalanche. Where is this traveller heading, you may ask. The answer is simple enough. He has to find Strawhat Luffy and Marco the Phoenix.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Compass

0o0o0

Chapter 1 - The Stranger - Red

Ace woke with a yell, lurching forwards, his hair falling into his eyes and dripping with cold sweat. He found himself lying under the same bridge he had fallen asleep beneath, in the same town he had aimlessly wandered into, in the same stretch of ocean that seemed to stretch for miles and miles and have no end to it's quaint little villages and measly little islands. An old, brown cloak made of a thick, scratchy material that chafed the man's skin was wrapped tightly around him. His old green backpack was tucked under the coat as well, and the ever-present log pose on his wrist was cracked. Stefan whined in what seemed to be a concerned way from beside him, and Ace sighed, rubbing the dog behind his ears with a weathered hand.

Shaking away the remnants of the nightmare, Ace sat up and stretched, glad that the spot his had chosen had yet to be submerged in water - for now, only the skin around his ankles was wet with the water flowing under the bridge. Pulling his aching body off the cold, wet ground, the former pyro clicked out the cricks in his neck and back; nobody to him that living rough was this uncomfortable. Then again, Ace had grown up with bandits. He had been practically living rough his entire life.

Hood up. Bag on back. Guard up. A whispered warning to Stefan to stay close. Back on the road.

It was the same everyday. The day Ace had woken up six feet under, apparently having 'died' in the Paramount War, he had grabbed his hat and his knife, and run, run all the way to the coast of the New World island on which he and his adoptive father had been buried. Some poor soul had left Ace's Striker in the tiny bay - it was rusted and broken and forlorn, but seeing it had been enough for Ace to break down once more, especially since the old man's dog, Stefan, was sitting in front of it, as if his mere presence could protect the boat and the green, animal-print bag strapped to the single mast. With how weak Ace had been, he probably could've.

Ace's devil fruit powers were long gone, the flames snuffed out like his life force had been only two years ago. Only the scar on his chest, ripping apart his Whitebeard tattoo reminded him of who he was, that and the pocket compass he carried with him, telling him how to get back to the first half of the grand line, back to his little brother who hadn't been seen for two years. Heck - he had to paddle his Striker with oars.

Ace stuck to the shadows as much as he could as he made his way back to the cost-side of town. Stefan whine occasionally, his Whitebeard-like moustache twitching, telling Ace that somebody was looking their way. The man just kept his head down, hoping to get away from the town with no incidents, until-

"Did you hear? That old rookie's back, the one with the straw hat!"

Ace froze, sinking further into the darkness and listening intently to the conversation held by three men leaning against the wall on the other side of the relatively quite street. Luffy had reappeared?

"Yeah," replied a blond. "'Heard he and his crew caused quite the ruckus in Sabaody."

Feeling relief wash over him like the sun, the former-pirate leant against the wall, and looked up at the orange-pink sky, tuning out the rest of the conversation. Luffy was alive and well, and was still a trouble magnet according to what those four had said.

"So, you're finally back, Luffy?"

Stefan growling was the only warning Ace had that he was no longer alone. The man glanced to the side in time to see a similarly hooded man leaning against the wall a few feet away. At first he thought he hadn't seen him, but Ace knew otherwise when the man, only a few inches shorter than him, looked up at him, only his mouth visible. The stranger grinned.

"Why hello, fellow fugitive," the man said, crossing his arms in a non threatening manner.

So the stranger was going to play it cool, huh? Well, if this man really was a fugitive too, there was no harm in making friends with him.

"Fugitive? Who're you calling a fugitive?" Ace replied jokingly, and was glad to see the man relax, his shoulder loosing their tenseness.

"You," he replied bluntly. Ace laughed.

"Want some company?"

"I'd be glad to accompany you, if that's what you're saying."

"Ah, shut it."

After that, it was safe to say that the pair got on like a house on fire. Apparently, the stranger had a boat, and, even though Ace knew that he shouldn't have been this trusting, he agreed to the offer of sticking together for a common goal. After all, what was the worst thing that could happen? The man seemed trustworthy, was travelling alone to reach Fishman island while keeping his identity a secret, just like Ace, and it would be more beneficial to the both of them to travel together until they reached their destination. The pair spent the day putting together what little money they had - this was mostly Stranger's funds, as Ace barely had two beris to rub together - and buying supplies the pair knew they would need from the limited amount of shops in the tiny village. All the while, Ace never saw the man's face, but didn't blame him. It wasn't like he was going to go around flashing his name left, right and centre.

It wasn't until nightfall, when the mismatched pair were just making their way to Stranger's ship, Ace heaving his striker over his back and Stefan trotting at the stranger's heels, that the visage of peace was broken. The ship belonging to Stranger was floating passively in the tiny bay, but there was only one problem.

It was surrounded by marines - and they didn't look friendly.

"You!" said the man at the front - he was wearing a long marine coat and had dull-blond hair shaved close to his skull. "We have reason to believe that you are allied with or part of the force known as the Revolutionary Army! You are hereby under arrest! Please come without a strug- Oomph!"

The captain was cut off by Stranger's knee making contact with his balls - he fell to the ground screaming as the marines around him looked on in shock for a second before seeming to realise that they were meant to be moving and pulling out their bayonet-guns, shooting and shooting at the pair and-

Ace was out of the way before the bullets were out of the chambers of the flimsy marine guns, and Stranger had apparently dived the other way, if the sound of the man rolling to the floor and coming to a controlled halt was anything to go by. Even after two years being buried in the ground, Ace refused to admit that he had lost his touch, so in a split-second, he was up there with Stranger, fists flying as he took down marine after marine. These were New World marines, so they were tougher than your average Blues navy dogs, but together, Ace and Stranger worked through them until they reached the boat.

Ace swung his Striker onto the deck of the boat - apparently called the Yonder Kraken, whatever the hell that meant - and soon followed after, leaping on after it. Stranger, his clothes slightly ruffled, followed him, and went straight to the wheel, pulling the ship out of the bay as the marines groaned in defeat and Ace made perverted hand gestures towards the fallen soldiers, laughing more than he had in years in the evening sun.

It was only ten minutes later, when the pair were far from the village, that Ace realised his hood had fallen back.

Three seconds after Stranger's fist had connected with his face

"HOW DARE YOU?!" the man roared, sounding older than he had all day. "HOW DARE YOU STEAL ACE'S FACE!"

Ace flew back into the railing and lay still for a few seconds, before struggling to sit up, whipping blood from the side of his mouth. He looked up in time to swerve to the left of a - noticeably shaky - punch, and was up on his feet in a second, going to painlessly sweep the stranger's feet from under him, but Stranger was faster, jabbing sharply at Ace's neck and then swinging his knee across his face, hard. The black-haired man crumpled, seeing stars, and hit the floor with an echoing bang. When Ace opened his eyes, there was a shining, black dagger between his eyes, a centimetre from his skin, and the man was sitting heavily on his chest.

"What the hell was that for?!" Ace asked incredulously, looking from side to side for Stefan. Wasn't that dog meant to be a bodyguard?!

"I knew Portgas D. Ace!" the Stranger practically screams, sounding rageful and avenging and hysterical. "I knew him, and I know that he's dead! Long... DEAD!"

The black sheen covering the dagger faded away like smoke in the air, and the man seemed to slump; the knife slipped and cut into Ace's neck slightly, but he didn't have the heart to turn into flame. Whoever this man was - be it a member of his old crew, a Whitebeard Pirate or a civilian - he was aching over Ace's supposed death, and seeing the man here was like salt in the wounds. Ace couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, be angry.

Ace pushed the man off him as gently as he could - which, really, wasn't very gently - and sat back against the railings, tentatively touching his rapidly swelling black eye, before turning to the Stranger, who's knife was still aimed at his throat.

"Look," he started. "I know it sounds crazy, and I know you won't believe me, but I really am Ace. I don't know how I survived, and I don't know why I'm here, but-"

The stranger growled, cutting off Ace, and the black-haired man looked on in slight trepidation as he pulled himself off the ground and stared down at him.

"If you really are Ace," Stranger said in a dead-sounding voice, "then answer me one question. Who were your two brothers?"

The world around Ace seemed to freeze - the seagulls stopped flying and the tide stopped moving and the sun slowed it's journey across the sky just to watch. He stared, wide-eyed at the man, and suddenly, he knew exactly who he was, even though it was impossible, even though his oldest younger brother was long dead. The sky rapidly turning scarlet red, the ocean morphing into waves of fire around them in the sunset, Ace stood and faced the Stranger, looking him right in the eye.

"Luffy. Luffy and Sabo."

The man made a choked noise that sounded shocked, angry and incredibly happy at the same time. While he was distracted, his guard was down, and Ace took that opportunity to pull back his hood, looking at him intensely as the sun illuminated his face from over Ace's shoulder.

Blonde hair, slightly wavy, was parted on either side of his face and came down to shoulders far broader then they had been when they were young. A scar covered his left eye like some kind of grizzly war paint. Round, black eyes, the only resemblance the man shared with Luffy, now both full of shadows and some kind of ever-enduring hope.

"Sabo…" Ace muttered, "Sabo! How? -W-What?" I- mph!"

Ace was abruptly, roughly cut off by a near-sobbing Sabo colliding with his chest and refusing to let go. Ace felt slightly uncomfortable at first - he and Sabo had never been the most touchy-feely people in the world - but then Sabo muttered a muffled 'I thought you were dead so hug me back you bastard' and everything was back to how it should've been.

Ace allowed himself to cry for the fist time since his resurrection, just thankful, so thankful , that his brother was alive.

"We left Stefan at port, didn't we?" asked Sabo in a muffled voice. Ace laughed shakily, letting his tired legs give out, knowing that, just for a while, his brother would be able to keep him standing until he had the strength to stand again.

"Yep, Sabo. Yes we did."

Ace couldn't help the sudden grin that spread over his face. Today was the best day he'd had in so, so long! His dead brother was alive, and his alive brother was alive as well, and his narcolepsy hadn't even-

"Godamnitt Ace!"

0o0o0

Chapter 2 - The Phoenix - Blue

Marco the Phoenix sat on the bow of the relatively small sailing boat, staring out at the blue, blue ocean. The much, much smaller crew had first begun sailing the Moby Dick again, but it felt too empty, to large for the fraction of it's occupants left standing. More and more people had left - splitting off into smaller pirate crews or joining existing ones until the only ones left were all of the surviving commanders and, strangely enough, all of the surviving people of Ace's division. It was no secret that they had all been close to their captain, and didn't want to betray his memory.

Nobody disturbed him on days like this, days when the Zoan-user would just stared out at the sea blankly, no expression on his face and nothing in his eyes but remorse and hatred and grief. They all had days like this.

Ever since the death of Ace, Whitebeard and so many other Whitebeard pirates two years ago, nothing had been the same. The remaining crew members had floated aimlessly around the Blues for a year or so, before deciding to return to Paradise, and that's where they were headed now. What they would do there, none of the crew knew, but there were rumours of a man and his companion storming the New World and only now emerging into Paradise, and, though he had no idea why, Marco had a feeling that he needed to meet this strange duo, needed to know who they were.

Strawhat, the brother Ace had given his life for, was back now, and apparently he was even more of a monster than before. He and his crew were headed to Fishman Island, no-doubt to reach the New World, and had left a messy chaos back at Sabaody Archipelago - just another crazy exploit adding to his list of incredibly explosive schemes and insane, legendary plots. Marco didn't blame the boy for Ace's death - after all, it wasn't his fault - but he couldn't help feeling a certain animosity towards the happy-go-lucky teen for living, while two of the best men Marco had ever known had died.

Marco shook his head, as if trying to erase all of the thoughts that had consumed him for months. He was a phoenix - this wasn't what he did. He was meant to rise from the ashes, pull himself up, and that was the opposite of what he was doing now. He, now the captain of what remained of the Whitebeard Pirates, was doing exactly what he told everybody else not to do - dwelling on the past. Now that they were heading to the grand line, and they couldn't afford distractions, not now.

"Captain!" called a voice from behind the blond, and Marco turned to see Izo, eternal pose in hand, ready to inform the leader of where they were. Much to Marco's chagrin, the entire crew refused to call him anything but 'captain' or 'sencho' now. The blond was tired of feeling like he was replacing his father.

"Yeah, Izo?" he responded easily, quashing a rising yawn. "How far to the next island?"

"About three hours," replied the crossdresser, looking a little concerned at his friends tired visage but leaving it be. Marco was nothing if not independent. "We're on course, but there's a small fishing boat approaching. No identifying flag - but they've raised peace signal. What should we do?"

Marco considered for a second. If the approaching sailors, whoever they were, were showing peace signal, then they were either marines in disguise, or pirates wanting to talk to Marco. No pirate with any pride would raise peace signal, then attack when the other ship let their guard down.

"...Alright," the devil-fruit user eventually replied, standing and slipping down off the bow. "But keep an eye on their deck - see if you can see who their captain is.

"'Course, Captain," Izo replied, turning and repeating his orders to the rag-tag crew. Marco leant back against the railings, squinting across the blue, blue sea with eyes trained like a hawk's to see the rickety-looking sailing boat approaching - not that their ship was much better. There was a single figure up on deck, and another appeared to be coming up from below. There was a white blob as well, sitting on the stern, and Marco had to stare hard to make out that it was a relatively small dog who was barking happily at the approaching ship - for some reason, that bark was familiar. Too familiar.

The ship was speeding up - the wind with it as it turned to sail alongside the Whitebeard's ship. The figure on deck could be seen clearly - he was a relatively tall, well-built blond, with happy, round eyes that looked like they were searching for something, someone. What, Marco couldn't tell.

The Phoenix walked alongside the railing until he was parallel to the blond. The stranger was wearing strangely noble-like clothes - a blue tailcoat, tall top hat and black boots. He had a long, black pole strapped to his back, and the way he held himself, he could fight, and fight well. Despite this, he looked slightly nervous.

"Who are you, -yoi?" Marco got straight to the point.

The stranger rubbed the back on his head humbly, flashing a smile so warm and genuine that most watching had to ignore the urge to smile back - and damn, if that smile didn't remind Marco of Ace.

"I'm Sabo, of the Revolutionary Army," the man started. "I... Have someone here you might want to meet."

"Revolutionary Army..." Marco trailed off. "What does Dragon want with us?"

The blond raised his arms in a peace gesture, shaking his head quickly. "No, it's nothing like that, I swear! I'm taking some time away from...work to help someone who really wants to see you all. More than you know." The man paused, looking behind him, down below deck to where the other passenger was. "Oi, Baka, this is no time to be getting shy. Come on out."

A dog barked that same all-too familiar bark, and instead of a man emerging, the dog did instead, rocketing across the small deck and jumping across the gap between the boats - straight at Thatch. The stranger yelled - 'No, Stefan!' - and Thatch made a muffled sound from beneath the dog attached to his face, but Marco was so busy looking closely at the dog to realise. The mutt couldn't really be their Stefan, right? But then Thatch had pulled the white dog off his face and was holding him at arm's length - there was no doubt about it, it was Whitebeard's old dog, signature moustache-like hair and all. The dog yelped joyfully, going from one happy crewmate to the next, taking in their familiar scents, and once Marco had had his fair share of Stefan-love, he looked up at the softly-smiling stranger, confusion shown plain as day across his face.

"Where did you find him?" Marco asked, a cross between happy and confused and mistrustful. "We looked everywhere... We thought he'd died in the War."

"It... Wasn't exactly me..." said the revolutionary, Sabo, as if he had to inform Marco about his looming execution and didn't know how; grasping blindly at straws. "I..."

"It was me."

All movement on both decks ceased - everybody froze, even the ever-unshakable Marco. That voice, that incredibly familiar voice ringing through his head, echoing on the air like the last ring of a bell couldn't really be there, could't, because it's owner was long dead and long gone, six feet under on that tiny, unreachable island in the New World. The new captain, the captain that felt as if the world and then some rested on his shoulders, turned in what felt like slow-motion, light glinting off the sea and into his eyes and into his heart as the sun made it's first appearance in days, shining down on their faces, illuminating the damned pirates and sending everything into focus. And there, on the other deck, was Ace.

Marco knew he shouldn't trust this. He shouldn't take this blonde's word for it, shouldn't believe that this really is Ace standing in front of him and not some imposter, but he did anyway because nobody in the world could imitate that unnaturally-wide, close-eyed smile, that relaxed posture that shouldn't have been present in situations like these; even those black, determined eyes that told of a hard past and harder future couldn't be copied. Portgas D. Ace was standing in front of him, awake and alive and breathing, and damnitt all, Marco was stuck between getting over there and punching him into next Tuesday and hugging his best friend and never letting go. The phoenix settled on staring, just staring intensely, as if he can make the man who died more tangible with his gaze, make sure that he's alive just with his hope-filled blue eyes.

Apparently, though, this wasn't enough for the rest of the crew, or, more specifically, Ace's division. They were across to the other deck in a second, faster then Marco had ever seen them move, clinging to their commander like their lives depended in it like some kind of living, breathing mass of sobbing, blubbering kaizokou. Ace looked like he was suffocating for a second, and Sabo was close to stepping in just so his brother didn't start asphyxiating, but stopped himself when he saw the wide, raw smile on Ace's face that showed how happy he was to be back.

One by one, the commanders darted across from their ship to join the crush, giving up on being cautious and just wanting to have the teen that melted all of their hearts back. Marco was the last - let it be said, he was punching Ace as he hugged him, but was hugging him nonetheless. Sabo started laughing, just because the scene was so ridiculous, but was cut off abruptly as he was pulled into the centre.

From the centre of the crush, Ace laughed shakily. He couldn't stay here - to many memories, to much bitterness - but nothing was stopping him from enjoying being with his family while it lasted.

Chapter 3 - The Monkey - Black

"You bastard."

Seastone cuffs locked around his ankles, carving long, thick lines into his skin. Skin flushed a bright scarlet just shades lighter then the tar-like blood streaming into his eyes. Teeth gritted in a constant grimace of pain, the opposite of their usual smile.

Monkey D. Luffy was a mess. Chained to what felt like a wall and looking like death warmed over, the teen looked every bit as weak as the man antagonising him was saying he was. His crew, his nakama, were chained to the left of the captain, most struggling frantically, trying desperately to escape and help their captain.

None other than Blackbeard paced before the captive teen. According to him, Akainu was on his way as well - since when did Admirals make agreements with Yonko?

"Oh, you'll pay for that one, boy," Blackbeard cackled - as if he'd been waiting for Luffy to say that. The man, the traitor, pulled his fist back, as if he had to aim at Luffy from a foot away. Frankly, the teen was a sitting duck.

Nami, frustrated, turned to Zoro - the only one not struggling.

"Zoro!" she half-screeched. "Why aren't you struggling?! You're the only one here with half a chance of being able to escape-"

"Sorry, no can do, Witch," the man cut her off. "They gave me seastone cuffs."

Nami looked shocked for a minute, before making a 'tch' sound and rolling her eyes. "Only you, baka."

"Zoro?" Luffy interrupted, looking down, and the crew looked over at him to see that he was preparing himself for the punch that would sent a literal earthquake through his body. "…Teach hurt Nami and Sanji." He pauses. "And… He's the reason Ace is dead. That's three people. Got it, Zoro?"

The green-haired swordsman stared intently at the captain for a few seconds before smirking and nodding, looking much more relaxed. "Got it, Captain."

And then the punch from the traitorous pirate was swinging at Luffy - the rest of his crew cried out in warning, but the teen did nothing to dodge. The earthquake could be seen literally tearing through the teen's body, and the Strawhats bar Zoro were screaming out in protest, struggling harder than ever to escape. Luffy's head flew back - his eyes were blank and rolled back but he wasn't screaming; no matter what, Monkey D. Luffy refused to scream in front of his brother's killer.

And then, just like that, it was over. Nami slumped back against the wall, silent tears streaming down her face - Chopper was sobbing, begging to be let free so he could tend to Luffy, and Franky had tears in his eyes. Sanji spat out a chipped piece of tooth; he had been clenching his teeth so tightly that it had snapped clean off. Robin looked up weakly, blue eyes uncharacteristically panicked, and Brook looked grave.

A brief second of silence. Blood trickled down from the side of Luffy's mouth. It started again.

Usopp struggled blindly. Never before had he felt this weak, this helpless to protect and aid his crew. Luffy had saved his village - protected the love of his life and let him come out to sea with him, and now all he could do was sit here? Pathetic.

The second punch ended - Blackbeard was cackling now, and Luffy looked like death warmed over. His skin was torn and chafed - worn hard in some places like worn leather, dyed sickly yellow and cracked like old paper simply from the pressure being placed on it.

The third came now - this one was far worse than the others. Blood and sweat dripped from every pore - nearly every Strawhat was screaming out in protest, but Blackbeard didn't stop, didn't hesitate to destroy Luffy's body bit by bit. Brook looked the worst - he'd never seen Luffy in this kind of state before, and frankly, he never wanted to again. Even though Zoro was still and silent, keeping his head down, there was a tension in his shoulders that portrayed his hatred of the situation - hatred of Blackbeard for hurting his captain like this.

But still, Luffy didn't scream.

Blackbeard drew his fist back yet again to deliver the fourth earthquake-fuelled punch, but this time, just as the grotesque man swung his meaty fist forwards, the fatty knuckles shining white with the power of the Gura-Gura no Mi, he was interrupted by a clear, sharp, ringing 'crack'.

All movement in the room froze - the Strawhats and the traitor, even Luffy, all turned their heads towards Zoro, who was chained and bound, head down, eyes glinting like he really was the Demon of East Blue. A crack ran through his Seastone cuffs, splitting them like some kind of grisly gash marring skin. One more push, one more second, and they would come clean off the wall. The Demon would be let loose.

Zoro raised his head and grinned.

"That idiot!"

"Ace?" Sabo tried, nearly running to keep up with the older. "Just... Calm down, alright? Uhh... It won't be long until we- ACE NO DAMNITT!"

Ace stood up precariously on the bow of their ship which, in his opinion, was moving far, far too slow. The pair had left the Whitebeard pirates two or three weeks ago after staying with them for a month or so, and immediately set off on Luffy's trail. Ace's old nakama were welcoming and warm towards Sabo while they stayed there- "You're extended family! Like a cousin or somethin'" Hatuta had said -but they couldn't stay with them forever. Their little brother needed them.

So, the pair had set off into the New World again, hoping that Luffy hadn't caused too much immeasurable damage to it, only to hear news that the young captain and his crew had been captured - captured by Blackbeard. So, thus, Portgas D. Ace had launched into 'Frantic Older Brother Mode' (because yes, that did deserve capitals), and Sabo hadn't been much better; but he had to keep Ace from blowing up the universe as well, making him a verrrrry crabby revolutionary. (Well, that was the understatement of the century, but at least they were alive, eh?)

And now they were on that same boat (albeit with a few minor changes - namely fireproofing), rocketing through the new world on the way to their only lead - a previously-inhabited island to the south of that half of the grand line, now occupied by Blackbeard. At best, Luffy and his crew would be unharmed and in control - the worst situations, Ace didn't want to think about.

He'd had enough.

The fire user, suddenly deciding to take action, literally pulled Sabo off the ground by the scruff of his neck (AN- Think Gajeel and Levy style XP), threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes - despite his brother's yells of protest - and grabbed his Striker, which had been lying on the deck. It was true that he couldn't use it now his powers were gone, but he could paddle - and he could paddle fast. Problem was, Ace only had one remaining oar.

Wait.

Ace snuck a look at his captive brother, who was still calling for his painful, immediate death.

Hm. That could work.

"..."

Splash.

"ACCCCEEEEE!"

All light was gone from the sky by now. The boy on guard had been a second from falling asleep about five minutes ago - after all, what was the worst that could happen? - when a loud, girlish scream had echoed from the cell where the prisoners were being kept. The boy had frozen because as much as he hated to admit it, that voice had sounded awfully like his boss's. He had considered going down to the cells, just to see if Blackbeard needed any help, but the captain had said not to bother him under any circumstances, and he didn't want to be kicked out on his first week of duty. He was already the laughing stock of the crewmen.

Oh, the crewmen. What the boy wouldn't do to shove their jeering taunts and deep, rumbling, hearty laughs and irritating jibes right back at their faces. He had only joined because of Captain Blackbeard; the boy didn't need those idiot crewmates annoying him while he tried to get on Sencho's good side. And for all of the long, tedious hours he spent-

The boy froze. A faint, distant yell - he was sure he had heard it, clear as a bell as it rang across the sea. Was it an incoming boat trying to get the base's attention? A lost sailor, close to being shipwrecked? A prisoner being carted into the base on a Blackbeard ship? The boy raised his telescope and walked to the nearest window out onto the stormy, grey ocean. The wind was picking up, howling across the sea, and a storm was brewing in the black clouds in the sky, but the boy could still see the ocean clearly in the lighthouse's beams of yellow light, and there was no ship to be found on the high, rolling waves. But... Where had that yell come from? The boy was sure that it had started out on the ocean - that was the direction it had come from, anyway.

And then, he saw it. A yellow and white boat - barely a raft - danced a jig on the waves as it neared the shore, spinning and veering madly on it's course. A man stood at the bow - the boy focussed his telescope, but all he could make out was a shock of black hair and something orange hanging around his neck, circular and three-dimensional. He was rowing with obviously powerful arms, and the boy found it strange that one oar was times ticker than the other... And appeared to be writhing...

The ship was close to shore by now, and the boy took out a small Den-Den Mushi from his pocket; after a few short words with the Commander, he was back to watching the raft, which was now on land. He reached behind him and pulled out the small but bulky shotgun which he'd never had to use before, and aimed at the man now stepping off the raft and onto the rocky cliffside of the island, a few hundred metres off the base itself. The boy squinted and wiggled his gun to get a good vantage point - nobody said it was this hard! - before he knew he had it and pulled the trigger and-

Nothing happened.

Wait what?

The boy pulled the trigger again, this time much harder, but again nothing happened; no bullets, no bang. What was he doing wrong?

Suddenly, the man's head snapped to the side and he stared the boy right in the eyes in a second - the boy jumped and scrambled back from the window as the glare that he couldn't even see clearly peirced him like a knife. In a second, the 'oar' - which now appeared to be a tall, blonde man yelling at the first person - had seen him too, and, after pulling the raft completely out of the way of the waves, the pair started to run towards the base. The boy started to feel horribly ominous. Why wouldn't his gun just hurry up and work?!

His panic grew when the pair started scaling the building - he was only on the second floor, what if they reached him?! Still, his gun refused to fire, and the boy slowly started to back away down the corridor when suddenly, loud footsteps that sounded like they were being placed by sandals echoed from that direction and the boy knew he was trapped; that was the direction of the dungeons, and a prisoner must have escaped! He was going to die! He was only on his first week as a pirate and he was going to-

"Hey. You."

The boy was almost too terrified to turn back to the window, but managed to force his body to face it; there perched a black-haired, shirtless man with an orange cowboy hat around his neck and something dangerous in his eyes. The boy was shaking now. "Do you know where the Strawhat Pirates are being kept?" the man demanded.

The boy could only point dumbly around the corner, and the next second something collided with his temple and everything went black.

Sabo hopped down from the window after Ace and stood above the unconscious boy, nudging him with the toe of his black boot. "You really didn't have to knock him out, you know," he told his brother dully.

"We don't have time for this!" Ace was already in full-blown older brother mode. "What could that bastard be doing to-"

"Calm down, you idiot, someone'll hear us!" Sabo hissed, hitting Ace upside the head, and the pyro rubbed the forming lump childishly.

But the problem was, someone already had.

"Ace..!"

Said pirate looked up from his pouting towards the direction the kid had pouted and felt everything freeze around him - Sabo looked around as well, and his breath caught in his throat like grit. There stood the very reason that the pair had come here, eyes impossibly wide, covered in blood that Ace hoped to god wasn't his own. Luffy looked like hell; he was pale and bloody and suddenly not seeming quite as dangerous. His black eyes were huge - black pupils dilated, black at the corners of his vision, black filling his head. Luffy felt like he'd just been punched all over again - only much, much harder.

"Ace..! Ace!" His speech became more and more frantic. "Ace!"

"Luffy..." the older muttered.

This was what snapped the teen out of his trance - a blur shot across the corridor and a second later Luffy was colliding with Ace with the force of a bazooka. At first, Ace wasn't sure whether he was being attacked or hugged, but it became clear which one once Luffy started openly sobbing like the crybaby he always had been. Ace smiled fondly and returned the hug; Luffy had always been clingy, so this was second nature to him. After a few minutes of incoherent sobs and Luffy-blubbering, Ace managed to pry him of, and was pinned with the Puppy Dog Eyes Of Doom. The man winced.

"Look... Sorry, but there's someone you need'ta meet," he said, and set Luffy at the ground, pointing at the other brother. Luffy turned and raised an eyebrow uncomprehendingly, still swiping tears from his eyes.

"Who're you?" the rubber teen asked bluntly, and Sabo laughed loudly despite looking a little hurt.

"You wound me, Luffy," he joked, and Luffy's eyes widened at his voice as he connected the dots. "Don't you recognise me?"

"...SABO!"

When Fleet Admiral Akainu arrived at Blackbeard's base with his miniature armada of ships (just in case those damn pirates tried anything shifty), he found two tons of rubble, a long, blue and ripped tailcoat and a concussed boy muttering about oars with cowboy hats and screaming guns that didn't work no matter what he did.

Chapter 4 - The Compass - Gold

Ace smiled softly down at his calloused hands, sitting on a roof in the dark of early morning. Luffy had left a week ago, determined to carry on, carry on fighting and searching for the One Piece with his nakama until the day he found it or the day he died. Sabo had left only a few days later - he had been gone from the Revolutionary army for far too long, and, from what Ace had snooped out, he even had a girl waiting for him back there. A tiny tinge of betrayal curled in Ace's gut, but he ignored it. He was the big brother - what kind of one would he be if all he did was wish for the younger two's company?

But, where would he go now? As far as the world knew, he was dead - he could hardly renown his name if all he was known as a was 'the man who died'. He could go back to the Whitebeard Pirates - no, that wouldn't happen. That ship was full of memories, dreams, nightmares. There was no place for the pyro there now.

He could return to East Blue - Dandan, Makino, the other mountain bandits and the occasionally visiting Garp would be happy to know he was alive, even if some of them wouldn't show it. Then again, Ace didn't want to spend the rest of his life hiding out in the mountains on some far-off island. That was the thing he least wanted to do right now.

Ace shook his head roughly. All of this thinking was giving him a headache. He glanced down at the worn, old pocket compass in his hands. It was broken - the needle was off calibration, and the glass was cracked. Now the damn thing was useless - the needle just pointed in a random direction, changing it's position every few hours rather pointlessly. Useless.

But… It wasn't. The delicate metal rod pointed in a different direction all the time, towards a different enemy - a different obstacle, a different dream. Maybe the broken compass that had guided him for so long would point him to a new friend - a brother or sister, a new nakama to accompany him on his journey. With no destination, Ace could go anywhere.

Just as the sky started to lighten, Ace turned to face the golden, rising sun that could nearly be seen over the horizon - the unrepairable instrument in his hand felt like an invaluable charm, not something broken beyond repair. The man was ready to set sail - the details like finding a boat and preparing didn't matter anymore.

Ace turned away from the light just becoming blinding, and walked away, following a pointless, broken compass that pointed nowhere, ready to sail again.

0o0o0

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed reading this :3 it was posted on FF.N as well, but I thought I might as well put it here. 
> 
> Please leave a comment!
> 
> LeeLee079.


End file.
